2002 Chevy 2500HD: stalling problem...any advice?

----- Original Message ----- From: "johnny" Newsgroups: alt.autos.4x4.chevy-trucks Sent: Wednesday, December 03, 2003 5:25 PM Subject: Re: 99 Yukon Electrical cut-out?

I hear you... I'm not very dealer friendly either, after a few poor experiences with obvious problems to some old vehicles of mine.

The fuel filter wouldn't hurt - it's a rather easy 30 minute job. A little messy, that's for sure. You don't really need a manual to do it.

My old '02 5.3 seemed to idle at 550 almost all the time. My '04 6.0 seems to like to drop the idle as much as possible that still allows the engine to run mildly well. I'll be at a stop light and I'll feel the truck start to shudder a bit. I'll look down at 450rpm on the tach. It'll usually catch right back up, and sit around 500rpm. Some days its happy at 500, others closer to 600.

I believe the battery light is just a byproduct of the poor idling/ running condition. The alternator can't supply enough voltate at lower rpm's (lower than 400 or so), so the battery light gets tripped.

Unfortunately, this might have to be a dealer call. They should have the technology to go in and monitor all of the fuel injectors and 02 sensors to see what's happening 'real time'.

-marc

Considering how new it is, you need to take it to the dealer. if for no other reason, to DOCUMENT the problem. If they can't fix it, and make the vehicle usable, then you need to check into your states lemon laws. Regardless of what they are, step 1 is to document the problem.

Sorry, I went back and read your original post, and now see you bought it used, and it has 54K miles on it (Out of mfgr warranty). However, if you bought it from a dealer, you probably have at least a 30 day warranty. If from a private seller, you may have recourse if he/she had taken to be serviced for this problem, and therefore knew about it and didn't disclose it to you.

Thanks to all of those who posted advice...it has helped out a lot. Yes, the truck is out of warranty, and the previous owner didn't report any of these problems when he sold it, so I won't press there unless it becomes absolutely necessary.

I did however pay (a nice sum) for an inspection prior to buying, so I figured since this guy got $(undisclosed amount) of my money for about an hour and a half of work :-) and gave the vehicle the "thumbs up", that he could at least give me some advice.

The course I'm going to take is to replace the fuel filter, and see if that helps. The idle normally is around 600-700 rpm. The problem isn't the idle gradually get lower and start to get rough; it seems to be more an on-or-off problem. Also I'm going to keep a notepad in the truck and record all the details if this happens again (op. temp, mileage, idle vs. driving, climate control on/off, etc.) and see if I can find a common condition. If I cannot, I may take it to a dealership to see if they can scan it while reproducing the problem. The vehicle inspector said that Ford can put a scanner on their cars that stays with the driver for a few days and records data, then the mechanic can look at what was happening while the problem happened. Chevy may have that too.

If anyone in this newsgroup is in the Atlanta area, the inspector I used was Kedrick Kennerly of

P.S. Aside from the 4-5 times it has either stalled or gotten a little rough, I LOVE my truck! I didn't notice the problem today at all...we'll see.

Krazygl00

Inline......................

Don't waste your time with the fuel filter. If it was the filter the problem would be CONSTANT and not intermittant. I'd be looking at your battery connections FIRST. Remove both terminals from the battery and clean the terminals with a wire brush, then use some dielectric grease on the before reassembling. Check all grounds, most specifically the battery negative to engine-block which loves to shake loose.

Doc

Inline......................

Doc,

Thanks for the advice...I'll check that out. I'll probably do the fuel filter anyway because it's probably time.

Krazygl00

Not sure what type...I haven't put new ones on since buying the truck. More woes this weekend...more stalling...I think it is electrical/electronics now. I still haven't checked the engine ground but will soon. More when I know it.

krazygl00

Krazygl00

Had the same problem with my 1999 tahoe. although i looked at the battery terminals and thought they looked good, i had read another post about them,and so i removed the cables, saw they were corroded inside. Scraped them clean, washed in baking soda and the problem was gone and never came back.

Thought I'd post a followup/resolution real quick...

A while after this post, I got a OBDII cable from

Replaced sensor a little over a week and 200 miles-or-so ago and so far, no stalls. I'm pretty sure the problem has been fixed, since it was happening about every other day before repair. The mech says the replacement one looked different from the old one...could be Chevy revised this sensor? I can post pics of the old sensor if there are any requests.

So the Crankshaft Position Sensor can cause intermittent stalls. One for the knowledge base?

Thanks,

Krazygl00

P.S. I can f>Hello,

Krazygl00

Wondering if you had to pay for it? Strangely my girl's '96 Pontiac sunfire runs just fine with a faulty one... read about someone else who has had a failed one for years... It's supposed to help the ECM have enough resolution to tell which cylinder is knocking, not that the engine isn't just knocking.

~KJ~

Vehicle is out of warranty, so yeah, I had to pay for it :-(

There is so little that is user-serviceable on these trucks...wish it weren't that way. I'm used to busting out a Haynes manual and replacing s*it. Doubt I'd want to make one into a trail ride. I will however use it to tow a trail-ride :-)

Well, I'll let y'all know if it stalls again...so far, so good.

Krazygl00

"KJ" wrote in message news:...

Indeed, a defective and/or crankshaft position sensor (CKP) can cause stalling, momentary engine cut-outs, and crank but no-start conditions. Intermittant CKP's can cause these symptions without necessarily setting a DTC or sometimes setting an improper DTC. This is because the interruption of CKP input to the ignition control module is less than the dwell time programmed into the system to set a CKP DTC. On GM vehicles equiped with traction control this manifests itself often in the traction control locking out. (again with or without a DTC being set) When CKP input to the ignition control module is interrupted, the engine speed reference being supplied to the powertrain control module (PCM) is interrupted as well and the PCM reports the failure via the class 2 serial bus to the EBTCM (electronic brake and traction control module) which promptly disables the traction control. The dwell time for this failure is MUCH less than the time for a DTC to be set. This almost always clears when the ignition switched off. So everything appears normal until the CKP hiccups again. So when encountering these problems on a GM vehicle, the CKP is the likely culprit but a defective ICM could also create the same problems. On certain "W" bodies (Impala, Regal, Grand Prix 1997-2002) a wiring harness problem can cause similar problems where there is a chafing problem where the harness goes around the A/C accumulator. GM service bulletin 00-06-05-049A addresses that situation.

.......Fred